Fuel Poverty Awareness Day 2025

At CREW Energy, tackling fuel poverty is at the heart of everything we do. That's why this year, as with every other, we want to raise awareness of this ongoing challenge for Londoners.

We believe that everyone deserves to live in a warm, healthy home, regardless of income or circumstance. Through our community-led approach, we deliver free energy advice, home visits, and tailored support to vulnerable households across south-west London.

Read on to hear more about fuel poverty and how we're working to alleviate it for our community.

What does fuel poverty look like in London?

In 2021 Trust for London released their latest fuel poverty map showing that fuel poverty was high across London. In fact, across much of the city, this issue affects more than 10% of households 

In the areas where CREW Energy provides our free energy advice, the rates certainly track this trend, albeit with some areas higher than others:

• Wandsworth 9.3%
• Richmond 9.7%
• Kingston 10.4%
• Hackney 12.1%

This does not necessarily tell the true story, however. From these stats, Wandsworth may appear to have a low rate of fuel poverty. But, if we dig a little deeper, we find areas of even higher percentages, such as Tooting, Furzedown and Roehampton, where a fifth of households are fuel poor.

Plus, energy efficiency goes far beyond fuel poverty. In 2024, around 45% of homes in Wandsworth had an EPC rating of D or below:
• 16,100 rated E-G
• 46,200 rated D

High concentration areas for low energy efficiency include Thamesfield, Balham, East Putney, Wandsworth Town and West Putney.

In the past year alone we’ve helped nearly 4,000 households across south-west London save an estimated £536,900 on their energy bills through our free energy advice, home visits, and events.

What are we doing to tackle this?

At CREW Energy, tackling fuel poverty is at the heart of everything we do. We believe that everyone deserves to live in a warm, healthy home, regardless of income or circumstance. Through our community-led approach, we deliver free energy advice, home visits, and tailored support to vulnerable households across south-west London.
 
Our trained energy advisors work directly with residents to identify inefficiencies, reduce energy bills, and improve comfort whether that’s through installing draft-proofing measures, changing behaviours, or accessing grants and benefits.

“I didn't think there was that amount of moisture in the room. It's incredible the amount. The dehumidifier is proving beneficial in helping my asthma as well. I breathe a lot easier.”   

Home energy visits

In the past year, our trained energy advisors have conducted 520 home energy visits, a 65% increase on the previous year, to residents in Hackney, Wandsworth, Richmond, Kingston and Merton. This service is specifically designed for people who need help and support with keeping warm and paying their bills. Our energy advisors visit homes, working with residents to analyse their energy usage, heating systems, insulation, lighting and energy behaviours, saving residents an average £245 on their energy bills.

We provide specialised advice to those who are on benefits, have long term health conditions, are over 65 or speak English as a second language, and partner with local groups and organisations to help ensure our outreach is inclusive and accessible for those who need it most.

Drop-in sessions and telephone advice

Our advisors also host regular drop-in sessions in libraries, children’s centres, hospitals and foodbanks, offering advice on energy use and bills. We also provide those on low incomes with referrals to other services such as debt and benefits advice, eligible discount schemes and fuel vouchers. In the past year, we supported 3,142 people through these drop-in sessions, with an estimated total saving of £289,000 on energy bills, as well as supporting 330 people through our telephone advice service. 

Through our home visits and drop-in sessions, we have been able to distribute simple but essential devices for saving energy and money, including 5124 LED bulbs, 1603 draught excluders and 1436 radiator foils, totally a potential saving of £175,518 and 226 tonnes of carbon.

Warm home packs

In 2024, building on the success of our pilot year, we once again worked with Richmond and Wandsworth Councils to deliver Warm Home Packs to vulnerable residents in the boroughs. 2,500 residents with an EPC rating of D or lower, and a household income of below £40,000 received a pack containing energy-saving kit and tips, such as LED bulbs, draft excluders and Radiator Heat Reflectors. As well as the kits, these residents were also offered home-energy visits from our trained advisors.

Many of the people we support report feeling less stressed, more in control of their finances, and better informed about their energy use.

Our impact

Our work has made tangible, lasting improvements to the lives of people experiencing fuel poverty. In the past year alone we’ve helped nearly 4,000 households across south-west London save an estimated £536,900 on their energy bills through our free energy advice, home visits, and events. And our Warm Home Packs have enabled residents to save an estimated £334,500 and 449 tonnes of carbon. 

The impact goes beyond immediate financial savings. Many of the people we support report feeling less stressed, more in control of their finances, and better informed about their energy use. For vulnerable individuals, such as older adults living alone or families with young children, this can be life-changing. We’ve seen residents who previously avoided heating their homes due to cost now able to stay warm through winter, and others who’ve gained confidence to advocate for themselves with energy suppliers thanks to our guidance. 

In particular, our support providing dehumidifiers for people living in tower blocks notorious for damp and mould, has made a notable improvement to health outcomes, particularly for residents with respiratory conditions. One resident told us:

“I didn't think there was that amount of moisture in the room. It's incredible the amount. The dehumidifier is proving beneficial in helping my asthma as well. I breathe a lot easier.”    
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Our community-first approach fosters connection and resilience. By working in partnership with local organisations and offering multilingual support, we’ve reached those who are often excluded from mainstream services.

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Are you worried about or struggling to pay your energy bills this winter?

Get in touch for advice on your energy use and bills, plus support with your water bills and any discount schemes you may be eligible for. We can also refer you to any other services you may need, such as debt and benefits advice, and provide fuel vouchers.

We host regular drop-in sessions in libraries, food banks and more across south-west London and Hackney.

Contact us